History VideoGame / StarbaseOrion

* MagneticWeapon: The Gauss turret fires a stream of armor-piercing projectiles at the enemy, although they are nearly useless against shields.

* ArbitraryMaximumRange: All weapons have a maximum range, beyond which they won't fire. After that, damage typically decreases with distance to target. Exceptions included missiles and torpedoes (same damage regardless of distance), as well as plasma cannons (damage ''increases'' with range).

* FrickinLaserBeams: Laser beams are the earliest weapons researched. They do weak damage that decreases with range. Double damage against shields but half against structure. Point Defense Systems also use lasers to shoot down missiles and torpedoes, although those are automatic. Additionally, Ion pulse cannons are not lasers but look very much like them and have an added bonus of doing more damage to structure if enemy shields are engaged.

* PointDefenseless: Ships or stations equipped with Point Defense Systems can destroy enemy missiles and torpedoes with FrickinLaserBeams, although the system can be overwhelmed by multiple launchers. This, in turn, can be countered by equipping a ship/station with multiple PD systems. [=ECMs=] can also be used to counter missiles and torpedoes, causing 30% of them to miss.

* HitScan: Since battles are only simulations, the outcome is already known by the time players view them. Additionally, all weapons except for nuclear missiles and photon torpedoes always hit (a ship commanded by Eesathu is an exception, as well as ships equipped with Auxiliary Thrusters), and the result is registered on the shield/armor/structure scale even before the animation of the firing finishes playing. As such, it's not uncommon for an enemy ships to blow up ''before'' the shots that were supposed to destroy it even arrive. This is the same for missiles and torpedoes that the game engine has determined will hit (also before they are even launched).

''Starbase Orion'' is a TurnBasedStrategy for [[IOSGames iOS]] developed by Chimera Software, LLC, and first released in 2011. Originally advertised as a port of ''VideoGame/MasterOfOrion'', the game has since evolved. One marked difference from the get-go is the focus of gameplay and any enhancements on multiplayer. Like ''[=MoO=]'', the player takes control of a starfaring race ([[MechanicalLifeforms Cyban]], [[LizardFolk Draske]], human, [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy Isather]], [[EnergyBeing Vass]]), colonize and improve worlds, research new technologies, design and build ships, conquer enemy worlds, engage in diplomacy and espionage, etc. The initial release of the game did not include some of these features, but they were added in subsequent updates.

'''Starbase Orion''' is TurnBasedStrategy for [[IOSGames iOS]] developed by Chimera Software, LLC. Originally advertised as a port of ''VideoGame/MasterOfOrion'', the game has since evolved. One marked difference from the get-go is the focus of gameplay and any enhancements on multiplayer. Like ''[=MoO=]'', the player takes control of a starfaring race ([[MechanicalLifeforms Cyban]], [[LizardFolk Draske]], human, [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy Isather]], [[EnergyBeing Vass]]), colonize and improve worlds, research new technologies, design and build ships, conquer enemy worlds, engage in diplomacy and espionage, etc. The initial release of the game did not include some of these features, but they were added in subsequent updates.

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* ViolenceIsTheOnlyOption: Diplomacy was nonexistent in the early versions of the game. Thus, destroying all enemies was the only way to win. However, even with the addition of diplomacy, destruction of all other factions is pretty much expected. The only victory options are the destruction of everyone else or an allied victory.
* WaveMotionGun: Any ship to which Captain Jack Gentry is assigned is additionally armed with a Stellar Burst Cannon, a long-range weapon devastating against any type of defense.

* ArtificialStupidity: Given the developers' focus on multiplayer, it's not surprising that the game's early AI was, shall we say, not up to par. Computer players would consistently make stupid mistakes, such as only ever building one large fleet. After that was destroyed, they would constantly send single ships at the enemy instead of massing them into a fleet first. Additionally, they would keep sending unarmed transports or colony ships at planets that are obviously protected, or only include one transport ship with its fleet, even though a single transport's worth of marines can't capture a world with even one defending marine present. Much of this behavior has since been corrected, although the sending-one-ship-at-a-time problem does, occasionally, show up. There is also a rare case of the enemy sending a large fleet of cruisers and destroyers... with absolutely no weapons.